I took a year-long break from blogging and it provided me with a refreshing view of Tsiporah Blog – and how it was no longer serving me. You can read more about the transition here. I’m so excited for all of the possibilities Nourishing Wild holds, and I hope you’ll join me on this new adventure.

Here are just a few of my most recent posts on Nourishing Wild – enjoy!

Hotel Thrillist Phoenix was one of the highlights of my summer. Good food, tantalizing cocktails and great company made for a perfect weekend. Thrillist had everything on point, from the music and the vibe, to the entertainment (mermaids in the pool, drones potentially crashing into things, custom decor, etc.). It is actually difficult to sum it up in words because it was just that fun, but I will do my best.

Hotel Thrillist Phoenix Feast

For one night, 16 amazing local restaurants came together on the rooftop of the W Scottsdale to serve up some of their best dishes, including some special off-menu items. The W Wet Deck bars mixed Jack Fire with magic to make a sweet tea cocktail that tasted like autumn in a glass, even though the weekend made it feel like summer would never end in Arizona.

In my opinion the two winning restaurants were Gadzooks and Sumo Maya – not that it was a competition, but Gadzooks served a ridiculous taco. Starting with handmade half corn/half flour tortillas, they piled on tomatillo roasted chicken, sweet slaw, spicy-sweet cornbread, and drizzled creamy flavor-packed sauces on top and I just couldn’t tear myself away. But luckily I saved some room because we made it to Sumo Maya’s booth near the end of our evening, and OH man, maybe I’m just a sucker for sushi, but I couldn’t get enough. It didn’t hurt that there were flower petals on top.

Gadzooks Taco

Diego Pops Tacos

Sumo Maya

Some of my other favorites included Diego Pop’s, Tabasco’s chocolate fountain (!!!), Lolo’s Chicken and Waffles, and Snooze Eatery.

Hotel Thrillist Pool Party

For some reason I thought the good eats were reserved for Friday night only, but I was wrong. The chefs for the Hotel Thrillist Pool Party seriously delivered, serving up roasted pork bahn mi, boozy shaved ice, a DIY taco bar, sweet corn and crab bites – and – Grilled Sea Bass with Citrus Jalapeno Beurre Blanc (recipe below). I was completely enchanted by this grilled sea bass. The grill itself was somehow a cross between a mini smoker and a grill and I now need to figure out how to make one for myself, because this sea bass needs to be a regular thing at my house.

I want to cook everything on that grill. It had pieces of wood sending smoke straight up into the fish like grilled heaven, but it was the sauce that completed it; creamy, vibrant, and impossibly silky. You have to taste it to believe it because words do not do it justice.

Sweet Corn & Crab

On this day, the W Wet Deck bars mixed even better cocktails which I did not know was possible; I was so not a whiskey person but now I am? and I know I need to keep Jack Fire and Jack Honey on hand so that I can sip Autumn cocktails and (alcoholic) apple pie in a glass whenever I feel like it. These cocktails perfectly set the tone for the beginning of Fall and I’m excited to whip them up come Thanksgiving. Check out the recipes below for an easy Autumn cocktail & grilled Sea Bass. If Hotel Thrillist is featured in your city next year, you can’t miss it!

Directions

Place milk, cream, garlic and Jalapeno together in a sauce pot and bring to a slight simmer. Remove from heat and strain. Add to the strained cream the zest and juice from the three types of citrus and return to the stove and reduce by half.

While I was living abroad I was blessed to be the marketing assistant to a woman with a truly incredible company: she leads food tours through the markets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. There were many perks that came with that job, like the best burekas with the most luscious fillings, learning where to buy high quality spices and hard-to-find “foreign” ingredients (like brown sugar), and which shops were truly worthwhile.

I’ve been home for a while, and she and I have kept in touch. She initiated a new start-up that would allow people in the United States to subscribe to a food delivery box filled with artisan foods and treats from Israel. During that time I had the pleasure of finally getting paid to do what I love: recipe development.

Actually, that wasn’t the only passion that I was getting paid for. In the span of a month and a half I had my 2nd catering gig, I taught my first cooking class plus I developed recipes for Koofsa. It was so validating and special to finally get to use my passion for cooking in that way; I felt a surge of motivation and fulfillment.

This is one of my favorite recipes that I developed for her company. These macaroons are so much better than store bought, and that’s coming from a girl who can go through a container of Manischewitz macaroons in no time at all. These mocha coconut macaroons, dipped in a velvety mocha dark chocolate ganache, stood no chance in my kitchen. We devoured them, and I know you’ll love them too!

This is a special and simple recipe to add to a festive meal or holiday dessert table. They are Passover kosher and gluten free with a gentle and satisfying sweetness that comes from date syrup. This recipe is loosely adapted from this one.

Directions

Start by pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, heat ½ cup heavy cream with 2 tbsp date bean coffee in a saucepan over low heat. Once the cream is hot, but not yet simmering, turn the burner off and pull it off the heat to let the date coffee to infuse the cream.

Meanwhile, toast half of the coconut in the oven until it is golden brown. Check on it regularly and use a spatula to toss the coconut flakes around so that you can be sure they don’t burn! Remove the pan from the oven once the coconut is golden brown and set aside to cool.

Whisk egg whites, silan (date syrup), vanilla extract, almond extract and salt until frothy, and then stir all of the coconut into the egg mixture.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. If you are using parchment paper, spray the surface of the paper lightly with baking spray so the macaroons don’t stick. Take your batter and scoop a tablespoon at a time and shape it into rounds on the baking sheet, about an inch apart.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While the macaroons are baking, prepare the ganache: Heat the cream again just so it is hot but not yet boiling. Pour the chocolate chips into a heat-proof bowl and strain the hot cream through a fine mesh sieve to remove coffee grounds; allow the cream to drip into the bowl of chocolate chips. Slowly stir the cream and chocolate together until the chocolate is completely melted and the cream is fully incorporated. Resist the urge to eat the whole pot with a spoon.

Place another piece of parchment paper on a second baking sheet. Once macaroons are cool enough to touch, carefully lift them from the pan, dip each macaroon the ganache and place on the second baking sheet. Cool in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Keep refrigerated.

*If you don’t have date bean coffee (it is a bit obscure), you can substitute your favorite ground coffee beans.

I went to Tucson this past weekend to visit my close friend, Jen, who recently moved there. I have only been to Tucson one time; to tour U of A and then I never returned. Ever. Except to see Matisyahu once.

This time I was prepared; I asked friends where I should eat. See, pre-college I didn’t care as much about food. It was only when
a) Food Network was my life soundtrack anytime I was in my dorm room
and
b) I had to cook for myself if I wanted home cooked meals
that I fell in love with cooking. So, the first time I went to Tucson I didn’t eat at any of the places I’m about to tell you about and that was a downright mistake. I did have a slushy from eegee’s, however, which had some redeeming qualities. I digress. Here’s where and what I ate in my 27 hours in Tucson this weekend:

Everything was so delicious; my favorite part about this type of foods is the fresh herbs, and they were plentiful. I typically never finish a whole bowl of Pho but I totally did this time and I felt as accomplished as the one single time I ever finished a Chipotle burrito, except I didn’t even have to try this time because it was so good. I actually had to stop myself from drinking the broth afterwards. They brought extra Thai basil to dress up my pho, along with cilantro, bean sprouts, hoisin sauce and Sriracha.

Sushi on Oracle

Sushi is one of my favorite foods in the world, and I always get excited when I find restaurants with affordable and authentic fare. Sushi on Oracle delivered; I enjoyed Albacore with Ponzu, and Jen and I shared a Spicy Yellowtail Roll and a Vegas Roll.

The albacore was so fresh it melted in my mouth. The Spicy Yellowtail Roll was also very fresh and had a really nice, delicate yellowtail flavor without being too spicy. And the Vegas Roll is essentially the dessert of sushi; melted gooey cream cheese with soft avocado, succulent salmon and sweet eel sauce is all I need to be sent into sweet sushi-coma submission. I was beside myself for the rest of the night, all I could keep saying was how good it was.

Food Conspiracy Co-op

I have a weakness for organic/local/artisan grocers, so naturally, we went to the Food Conspiracy Co-op twice in the span of a day and a half. Twice. No one was surprised. The first time I stood in the spice aisle for way too long reading every label and then gawking at the river that became 4th street when a hurricane-like storm swept through. A tree fell on someone’s car and the power flickered; panic rose within me at the thought of the registers failing and not being able to take home all the teas and spices and medjool dates in my basket.

Don’t worry, I was able to purchase them. In case that visit wasn’t enough, I had to go back the next day to get more tea and more dates and some fresh figs because Jen had never had one and everyone deserves to eat a chilled fresh fig in the summer sunshine with one of their best friends. So we did that, and it was magical. I have tried 3 of the countless teas I bought and love all of them so far, and I am now completely obsessed with dried chipotle chili flakes. I have put them on almost everything savory I’ve eaten since I’ve been home. Jen is going to have to ship me a kilo or 10.

Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress

My sister’s friend told me I must order the baked eggs, and that it would be the culinary experience of a lifetime.

It was amazing.

I got the baked eggs. It was a culinary experience of a lifetime. I MEAN WHO WOULDN’T LOVE EGGS WITH LOX BAKED IN CREAM???? Yeah, no one, that’s what I thought. This dish typically comes with ham in it but lox was an option and I can’t pass up lox + eggs, ever. It was so good and rich and creamy and good. If you are in Tucson, get the baked eggs. Also, I had my first bloody mary from a bloody mary bar and felt really fancy about it and loved the whole experience.

Now you are ready to go forth and eat baked eggs and buy 100 teas and eat albacore with ponzu and the yummiest pho eva. Report back and let me know if you loved it as much as I did.

By the way, if you’ve ever wanted to watch me cook LIVE now you can!! Join me on Periscope, a new live-streaming app, and watch me cook, meal prep and answer all of your questions LIVE! You can find me @TsiporahBlog on Periscope 🙂